A Posteriori
by astral-angel
Summary: Until 1997, wherein the timelines diverged – and Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Bilius Weasley succeeded in doing what the world had thought to be impossible. They changed history. Eventual HermioneFred. Trio centric, plus Sirus, Remus and the twins.
1. Eppur Si Muove

**Title:** A Posteriori  
**Character/Pairings:** Eventual Hermione/Fred, Trio centric + Sirius and the Twins!  
**Disclaimer:** This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling & Bloomsbury, et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.  
**Word Count:** 1,608 words  
**Spoilers:** PS, CoS, PoA, GoF, OotP, HBP & DH.  
**Warnings:** AU, Character death (temporary!)  
**Summary:** After all, it was a well known fact that horrible things happened to those who meddled with time. These facts were known to every single Unspeakable working within the Department with clearance high enough. These facts were written in sealed Ministry records, kept under lock and key within the deepest vaults of the Ministry. Until 1997, wherein the timelines diverged – and Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Bilius Weasley succeeded in doing what the world had thought to be impossible. They changed _history_.  
**Notes:** Props to Enigma for both main and chapter titles.

**(A Posteriori: Eppur Si Muove)**

_The Wizarding World keeps a close eye on those who travel through time. Time turners were only given in the most exceptional cases (or if you happened to have an in with the Head Unspeakable at the Department of Mysteries, as was the case of Professor Minerva McGonagall, who merely wished to obtain a time turner for an overachieving student) and their use severely monitored. After all, it was a well known fact that horrible things happened to those who meddled with time. In mid 1994, Hermione Jane Granger (the aforementioned overachieving student) and Harold James Potter (the Boy Who Lived) successfully altered the course of time by saving themselves and Sirius Black, notorious Azkaban escapee, from Dementors (though it must be mentioned that it has been argued that they did not meddle, per say, as they had already been saved – therefore they would have had to go back and save themselves). After this incident, the Unspeakables kept a close watch on the Time room, monitoring any discrepancies occurring within the existing timeline. In mid 1996, six Hogwarts students (unsurprisingly, the names Hermione Granger and Harry Potter once again appeared) battled a dozen Death Eaters within the Department of Mysteries and destroyed the Time Room and every time turner in existence at the time. _

_These facts were known to every single Unspeakable working within the Department with clearance high enough. These facts were written in sealed Ministry records, kept under lock and key within the deepest vaults of the Ministry. _

_Until 1997, wherein the timelines diverged – and Hermione Granger and Ronald Bilius Weasley succeeded in doing what the world had thought to be impossible._

_They changed history._

(--//--)_  
_

In the original timeline, Voldemort leaves Harry's broken body on the outer edges of the Burrow's wards three days before his seventeenth birthday. Hermione and Ron don't actually know how to react when they find out – their best friend is dead, had died _alone_ while they were fooling around.

The Order grieve, but still believe that they have a chance. They mourn the Boy Who Lived and Moody uses his death to spur them on. _Harry Potter will not have died in vain._ Hermione and Ron are the only ones who know that the Boy Who Lived was also the Chosen One, that he was the only one who stood a chance at killing Voldemort. They don't even want to think about the Horcruxes and what needs to be done about them.

The weight of the Wizarding World is sitting on their shoulders and the two lions of Gryffindor aren't sure they'll be able to hold the weight.

They disagree on whether or not to tell the Order about the prophecy and the Horcruxes (Ron thinks they should, Hermione doesn't) and finally agree to disagree. Hermione convinces Ron to err on the side of caution because they still don't know who they can trust – Lupin would have been their obvious choice but then they remember that he'd gone undercover with Greyback's pack and might have been compromised.

They leave the Burrow on the night of the funeral – everyone is either sloshed or well on their way to tying one on, so the two teenagers find it disgustingly easy to slip out. Hermione had been preparing to leave for ages (though she'd been thinking in terms of trio, not duo) and Ron's belongings are hastily thrown into her bottomless bag. They hesitate for all of a second before taking Harry's invisibility cloak, the Marauder's Map, the fake horcrux and the note from the mysterious RAB. They can't afford to leave any clues about what they're doing. By the time Ginny reads the hastily scrawled notes left on Hermione's bed, the duo are long gone.

At Grimmauld Place, Hermione's hunch about Regulus Black pays off when they find Slytherin's locket amidst Kreacher's belongings. It's a hollow victory because Harry is still dead, but Hermione is glad that at the least, Sirius could be proud of his younger brother. Ron keeps the Horcrux at his side while Hermione scours the library for anything that could possibly be helpful. Most of the dark books have been confiscated but there is a spell that she takes note of, in case it all went to hell - which it most likely would. They spend an uneasy night in the lounge because the bedrooms have become all dusty again and don't mention their weird relationship (if you could even call it a relationship). There is no room for it now – Harry is dead, and the world is depending on them, even if it didn't quite realize it.

They wake up the next morning and Hermione decides to ignore the tear tracks on Ron's cheeks because he's doing the same for her. One rather subdued argument later, Hermione apparates Ron Side Along to Hogsmeade while under the invisibility cloak. They sneak into Hogwarts using the passage under Honeydukes and narrowly avoid being seen by McGonagall while making a mad dash to the Room of Requirement. Hermione walks in first and finds the sword of Godric Gryffindor lying on the table in front of them and thinks that this is all happening rather too easily. Ron pierces the centre of the locket while Hermione watches, wand at the ready. An unearthly shriek fills the room, followed by an odious trail of black smoke that quickly dissipates.

They exchange weary glances. One down, three to go. Ron collapses on the sofa and watches curiously as the room reverts back to its natural state, sensing that their requirements had been fulfilled. Dust motes float through the air and there are stacks and stacks of _things_ strewn across the room – years and years of junk left behind by forgetful or apathetic students. Hermione, naturally curious, starts to dig around. When Ron hears her screaming, he jumps up, only to find that his wand is pointed directly at nothing. He stares at her like she's gone absolutely barmy while she squeals but she finally holds up a pretty headpiece – Ron thinks it's alright, but that the one Auntie Muriel has looks better. And bugger it all, he's gone and missed Bill's wedding to Phlegm because of this – Mum was going to _murder_ him.

The brunette witch is literally bouncing as she explains that this, Ravenclaw's diadem, is most likely the unknown artefact. They try the sword on the diadem but fail (somehow, Hermione is _not_ surprised) so they make their way to the dungeons. She has no qualms about stealing the small phial of 55 galleons per ounce basilisk venom – Slughorn certainly wasn't going to be using it for anything important. She pours the venom carefully over the intricate filigree, watching with satisfaction as the eerie voice shrieked and the black smoke disperses through the crack in the centre stone.

This leaves them with Hufflepuff's cup and Nagini and Hermione can say with complete certainty, that Gryffindor or no Gryffindor, she was not going near that bloody _snake_.

A day later they watch in horror as Diagon Alley is decimated. _Weasley Wizarding Wheezes_ is thankfully sealed tight but under the protection of the invisibility cloak, Hermione and Ron watch the carnage occur. Hermione starts as Voldemort drags a sullen Neville Longbottom into the clearing – her heart starts beating in triplicate as the words of the prophecy begin to ring in her ears. Riddle taunts Neville, comparing him with Harry. Ron's eyes grow wide as he begins to catch on and they both pray for a miracle.

If Voldemort marks Neville, even while mocking him, they have a chance.

Three days later Neville joins the duo, rubbing at the scar on his chest. He still doesn't know about the Horcruxes, but Hermione and Ron think that as long as they can get rid of the cup, they won't need to tell him – and honestly, the less people that knew about Horcruxes, the better.

However, they both overlook one crucial factor – neither have told Neville that they can't kill Voldemort until all the Horcruxes are destroyed.

In the aftermath of the battle, amidst the stunned cries of the Order members, Hermione tells Ron about the spell she'd found earlier.

Their world can not withstand a third rising of Voldemort – and so they use power to rip through the fabric of time and they go _back_.

(--//--)

In the second timeline, they find themselves in sixth year. Harry drinks from the poisoned wine and for the life of him, Ron can't remember where the bezoar stone is.

(--//--)

In the third timeline, Dolohov avoids Hermione's silencing spell and casts the killing curse – Hermione ducks, and the spell grazes Harry on the side.

(--//--)

In the fourth timeline, Cedric Diggory appears in the middle of the crowd, the cup cradled in one hand, Harry's bloodied body in the other.

(--//--)

In the fifth timeline, Hermione and Ron finally get something right.

(--//--)

_It must be noted that on September 1__st__, 1993 an event occurred that disrupted everything. __**Everything.**__As far as the Unspeakables could tell, the consciousness of seventeen year olds Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley merged with that of their younger selves until they retained the knowledge of the original timeline and of those that came after the original but before the current. It was with this knowledge that the future of the Wizarding world was changed one last time. With the help of a dog called Padfoot, a half kneazle named Crookshanks and two mischievous twins, Hermione and Ron attempt to steer destiny in favour of Harry James Potter._

_Whether they succeed or not has yet to be determined._


	2. Feel Me Heaven

**A Posteriori: Feel Me Heaven [****02/12**

_Of course, once this had happened, the Unspeakables had to make a decision. The two had ripped apart the fabric of time, had changed destinies. It was a crime worthy of consecutive life sentences in Azkaban – yet, they had done it for the good of the Wizarding World. Voldemort could not be allowed to win, their Seers had been unmovable on that front. _

_So the Unspeakables watched avidly, waiting for their chance. There was so much to learn – what had happened in the original timeline to make the two teenagers risk everything?_

(--//--)_  
_

Hermione stared into the fireplace in the Gryffindor common room, attempting to assimilate her thoughts. It was a rather odd experience, being almost eighteen years old and having to be stuck in her fourteen year old body. Merlin, she was going to have to go through _puberty_ again. Sometimes there was truly no justice in the world. Crookshanks was curled in her lap – and _oh_, that was a whole other can of worms wasn't it?

What on earth were they going to do about Scabbers?

"Merlin's beard, but this is bloody well messed up, isn't it?" Ron let out a groan as he collapsed onto the sofa next to her. Hermione snorted. If _that_ wasn't the understatement of the year, she didn't know what it was.

"Where's Harry?" They needed to discuss certain things and their bespectacled friend could not be around when they did.

"Fred and George dragged him off – something about hiding from Oliver? Dunno, really." The redhead shrugged, stretching himself over the armrest.

"Is Scabbers around?" Okay, she was really going to have to work on not _snarling_ that name out. Ron bolted upright, his eyes going wide.

"Oh, bloody buggering fuck." The expletive caught the attention of some of the first year girls, who looked at each other before bursting into giggles.

"Ronald!" The tips of his ears went bright red, a sure sign that his temper was starting to build. "Ron, calm down – he's just a _rat_, remember?"

"He's upstairs, sleeping, I think."

"Good – you're just going to have to get a nice little cage." Ron looked at her askance. "Well, if he keeps getting loose, who knows what Crookshanks might do to him!"

"That's brilliant – but what's to stop him from, you know," Ron paused, knowing he couldn't say the words on the off chance that someone was eavesdropping.

"Oh, don't worry about that. I'm thinking something like the Azkajar I used on that annoying beetle a few years ago should do the trick."

"What_are_you guys talking about?" Ginny popped out from behind the sofa, cradling Scabbers in her hands. "Ron, you should really start taking better care of him you know – I almost stepped on him!"

"Great loss that would be, I'm sure." Hermione's muttered comments were just audible enough for Ron to hear, who snickered. "Don't worry Gin, we were just mentioning that we were going to get a cage for Scabbers – that way he wouldn't have to worry about anything and he'd be able to get all the rest that the shopkeeper said he needed!" Crookshanks caught sight of the rat and hissed, fighting to get out of Hermione's arms.

"Do you think McGonagall will transfigure something into a cage for me then?"

"Well, I could probably do it, if you had something to change." Ginny shot Hermione a startled look as Ron bolted up the dormitory stairs.

"But permanent transfigurations are OWL level work Hermione!"

"Uh, I read ahead?" Hermione blushed. "Plus, it's not exactly a permanent transfiguration, is it? I can renew the spell until the first Hogsmeade weekend, anyway."

Ron thundered back down the stairs, nearly bowling over Colin Creevy who merely shrugged and snapped a photograph. "Will this do Hermione?" He held out a small mesh ball to Hermione who examined it for a moment before nodding.

"Yup, this is perfect." A subtle twirl of her wand and a muttered incantation later, a wire cage sat on the sofa between the two third years.

"Wicked." Ginny grinned, gently placing Scabbers into the cage. Hermione slammed the door shut quickly, and flicked her wand again rapidly, causing a soft yellow glow to settle over the cage and Scabbers, who scurried around nervously. "Whoa, what was that?"

"Oh, that was just to make sure that Crookshanks can't get through the mesh." Scabbers visibly relaxed, settling into a corner.

Ron smirked, his blue eyes hard as he stared down at the oblivious rat. "Azkacage?"

"Na, doesn't quite have the same ring to it."

"You two are mental." Ginny shook her head in disbelief, staring between the two. "I'm off to bed now though, so I'll see you at breakfast, I suppose."

"We know." Hermione grinned, running her hands through Crookshanks' fur. "G'night Gin," she called to the retreating girl.

(--//--)

"Hey, are you still using the, you know," Ron pointed to his watch in an attempt to get his point across. "You're not going to do all those classes again, are you?"

Hermione shrugged, looking around for Harry. Oliver Wood had pounced on him as they'd been leaving the common room, and if he didn't get away soon, he'd miss breakfast. "Well, it's not like I can just suddenly decide to drop everything, Ron."

"But you almost went mental last time!"

"Yes, well, it should be easier this time around," lowering her voice, Hermione continued. "Plus, what if I need it to save Snuffles again?"

"Snuffles? Why Miss Granger, do you have -"

"A pet name for someone?"

Hermione groaned as the twins appeared from behind, each slinging an arm around her shoulder. Ron's siblings had an unfortunate habit of popping out at the worst times. "Go away."

"Now, now, Granger, that's -"

"Not very nice of you is it?"

"Shove off, will you?" Ron rolled his eyes, snickering when they huffed dramatically.

"Look at that Gred, Granger's been corrupting our little brother!" George tugged on Hermione's hair playfully, grinning when she swatted his hand away.

"I say, Forge, do you think Mum knows how much of a bad influence she is?" Fred teased, reaching across her to tap George on the shoulder.

Hermione groaned again, feeling her temper rising. There was so much that they still had to talk about and with the twins around, that was going to be impossible. Also, they were quite a bit taller than her and walking squished between them was more than a little awkward. "It is far too early in the morning to deal with the two of you," she ducked out from underneath their arms, fighting back a laugh as they pouted.

"Hermione!" Harry's voice rang through the corridor and they all turned around to see the raven haired Seeker running up to them, breathing heavily. "C'mon, we're going to be late!" Hermione threw him a startled glance as he tugged on her arm, pulling her forward.

"Harry, what are you doing?" She pulled at her robes in an attempt to keep from tripping, shrugging when Ron looked at her, confused. "What are we going to be late for?"

"What'd you mean, Hermione?" Harry slowed to a walk, hurriedly taking her bag from her. "We have to meet with the new Defence professor this morning, remember?"

"Huh?" Hermione stopped, exchanging a startled glance with Ron. "When did this happen?"

"Hermione, are you alright? He told us on the train yesterday, said he needed to talk to us about something important. Now c'mon, we're going to be late!"

They started walking again, slowly breaking out into a run to keep up with Harry, while her mind worked furiously. This had never happened in the first timeline, or in any of the others. In fact, she hadn't spoken to Remus until the first Defence lesson. Harry knocked into someone, yelled out a hasty apology and tugged on Hermione and Ron until they were all sprinting through the corridors.

They slid to a quick stop in front of the classroom, Hermione knocking into Harry as she stumbled. "Ah, there you three are." The door swung open of its own accord and they walked in to see Lupin sitting at his desk. "I was beginning to think that you'd decided not to come, after all."

"Sorry Professor, we got a little sidetracked." Hermione remained silent, quite willing to let Harry do all the talking for once. She was far too busy trying to figure out what they'd changed, but she was more than a little confused. They hadn't merged until after they'd arrived at Hogwarts, so what could they possibly have done?

"That's quite alright, Harry, er, Mr. Potter," Remus stumbled over Harry's name before continuing. "I wanted to talk to you about your reactions to the Dementors on the train yesterday."

Hermione inhaled sharply – in the original timeline, it'd been Harry who'd fainted. Who knew how the Hermione and Ron in this timeline had reacted? Standing next to her, Ron tensed, his eyes wary.

"What about our reactions?" Hermione had never been so thankful for Harry's defensive nature.

"To be honest Mr. Potter, it isn't so much _your_ reaction that I was concerned about – given what you have gone through in your short life, it is more than understandable." Lupin's eyes fell on Hermione and Ron, the blue both familiar and unknown all at the same time. "However, the effect the Dementors had on both Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley here was most interesting."

Hermione felt Harry's gaze on her but couldn't look away from Lupin's eyes. "I'm not sure I understand what you mean Professor," she said softly, attempting to keep her voice steady. Lupin's eyes narrowed, his gaze searching.

"And you, Mr. Weasley?"

Ron shifted next to her, hands clenching into fists. "Honestly, Professor?" Hermione's breath hitched – surely he wouldn't tell? "I don't remember much about the train ride yesterday at all. I don't have a clue how I reacted."

Hermione's heart rate settled into a steady rhythm as she continued to stare at Lupin. "I don't mean to be rude, Professor, but breakfast will be over soon and we still have to get our timetables' from Professor McGonagall."

"Oh, of course." Lupin's sharp gaze softened into a smile. "I didn't mean to keep you – now, run along and I shall see the three of you in class."

They left the room hurriedly, Harry relinquishing Hermione's satchel. Ron gave her a startled glance, and Hermione shrugged, utterly confused.

"What the bloody hell was that?" They fell back minutely, enough so that Ron's harsh whisper couldn't be heard by Harry. Hermione watched the back of his head pensively, brown eyes concerned.

"I have no idea."

(--//--)

_In the Time Room, a small change was noted. Nobody, not even the Unspeakables, could have discerned just how much a lack of reaction could have changed things so much. The incident on the train occurred before the merge, so the Unspeakables were at a loss to explain why things had been changed, much in the same way as Hermione Granger. Of course, neither the Unspeakables nor Hermione Granger were aware of the others' confusion on the matter – that however, was soon to change. _

_After all, it is a fact widely known that even the smallest butterfly flapping its wings can cause widespread devastation a thousand miles away._


	3. Dreaming Of Andromeda

**A ****Posteriori****: Dreaming Of Andromeda [****0****3/12**

_Chao__s theory.__ For more than a century, Muggles had described the phenomenon as something similar to cause and effect – for every action, there is a reaction. In 1952, Muggle writer Bradbury wrote about time travel and the consequences of even the smallest of actions. Popularly known as 'the butterfly effect'__, in the wizarding world __chaos theory differs from what the Muggles perceive it as. In the depths of the Ministry, for years, Unspeakables have been cataloguing changes – for in the wizarding world, every time a decision is made, a new world is created, each concerned with the consequences of the decision. __The sheer magnitude of the task had led to the creation of an elite team of Unspeakables – those who monitored changes concerning the major players in the current times. Harry Potter, He Who Must Not Be Named and Albus Dumbledore each had held the distinction of having two Unspeakables assigned to them – the only ones to have attained such importance. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were quickly catching up though – the Head of the department was considering assigning more Unspeakables to the team. However, despite this, all those involved were still at a loss as to how the two had managed to change things so irreversibly. _

_A meeting was to be held soon – the time had come to make a decision about what to do about the time travellers._

(--//--)_  
_

The night before their first Potions class, Hermione talked Ron out of wondering how they could manage to poison both Snape and Malfoy.

"Murderous gits." Ron's grumble was barely audible in the cacophony of sound in the Gryffindor common room, but Hermione's heart still stopped for the briefest of moments.

"Ron, you know we can't do anything, not yet anyway – we could change everything, and then where would we be?"

"Happier?"

"What are the two of you on about now?" Harry collapsed onto the sofa, looking at them curiously. Hermione exchanged a glance with Ron, before leaning closer to Harry, her voice soft while she spoke.

"Harry, do you think you could meet us here tonight? Say, around eleven? We really need to talk to you."

Harry glanced between the two suspiciously. "Are the two of you together then?"

"What?" Hermione rolled her eyes. Honestly, boys. "No." Not anymore, anyway, she silently amended – whatever attraction that they'd held for each other had faded somewhere after the first time Harry had died. Oh _god_. That would never sound quite right.

"Bring the cloak, will you Harry?" Ron looked around and then dropped his voice further. "We don't want anyone to overhear, that's all."

"Sure – but there had better be a good explanation for this." Harry tilted his head, eyes narrowing. "Does this have anything to do with why the two of you have been so secretive lately?"

"Hush Harry, we'll explain everything tonight, I promise."

(--//--)

"_Bloody hell_," Harry's harsh whisper broke the silence. It was nearing two in the morning and Hermione had just finished recounting their story to him, Ron occasionally interrupting with things from his point of view.

"Trust me Harry; that comes nowhere near close to summing up the situation" Hermione said, a wry smile on her face. "Honestly – we didn't think you'd believe us, not really."

"Figured you'd think we were nutters, actually." Ron glanced around the deserted common room, huddling closer to the fireplace.

"So what do we do now?"

"We need to have a plan – we can't rush into things, not like we've done before."

"So I guess that cuts out killing Snape, huh?"

"We wouldn't have a chance against him Harry, and you know it." Hermione hesitated, looking between the two boys. "Besides – sometimes I think we don't have the whole story."

"Hermione!" She rolled her eyes – the boys were so predictable sometimes.

"I'm not saying that he's innocent – he's not. Just that we may be missing a few points, that's all." Hermione frowned, staring into the fire. "That's not what we have to decide though, not at the moment."

"Sirius."

"Don't forget Pettigrew."

"If only we could." Ron scowled, as he did whenever his erstwhile pet was mentioned.

"Can we go to Lupin?" Harry questioned, pushing his glasses up. Hermione smiled a little at the familiar gesture before shaking her head.

"I don't think we can, Harry." Oh, but how she wished they could. "Not to Dumbledore, either."

"I don't _want_ to go to Dumbledore."

Well, then. That certainly changed things. She supposed hearing about Dumbledore's tendency to keep secrets was just as infuriating to him now as it had been in the previous timeline.

"Why don't we go to Sirius?" Ron asked, looking baffled. "He's the most likely to believe us, anyway."

"And how exactly are we going to meet up with him? He's on the run, isn't he?" Harry shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure that it wasn't Black who betrayed my parents?"

"Of course we're sure mate – he's your godfather, you know."

"Yes Ronald, we did mention that." Hermione sighed, contemplating their choices. "We need the map."

"What map?"

"The Marauder's Map, Harry." Ron grinned. "It's brilliant, mate."

"It's a map of the school, Harry. If you know the password, it'll show you everything and everyone in the school."

"And all the secret passages and everything!"

"Sounds great – only, where do we get such a map?"

Ron's face fell. "Oh. They haven't given it to you then."

"They gave it to him just before the first Hogsmeade trip, remember?"

"Uh, who?"

"The twins, Harry." Hermione looked at him apologetically. It was weird having Harry not remember such little things. "Fred and George have the map at the moment – in the original timeline, they gave it to you on the day of the Hogsmeade trip. Only, we can't wait that long this time. Hogsmeade isn't for another month."

"So what do we do then?"

"We have to get it away from them somehow."

"Steal from the twins?" Ron snorted. "Have you gone bonkers, Hermione? The last time somebody tried to take something from Fred and George, they ended up covered in purple and yellow spots for a week!"

"Well what else do you expect us to do then? We need that map, Ron."

"..."

"Yes, I thought so." Hermione smirked at his lack of response before sighing. "So how are we going to do this? The twins can't find out what we know."

"Well, it'll have to be Hermione who takes it."

"What? Why me?" Hermione scowled at Harry who shrugged in response.

"Face it Hermione, you're much more sneakier than either me or Ron – and we're going to need sneaky if we plan to put one past the twins."

"He's got a point, 'Mione."

"Hermione, Ronald, my name is Hermione."

"It still has to be you who does it."

"Hmph."

(--//--)

Hermione made her way down the stairs from the girls dormitory, fighting back a yawn. Four hours of sleep was not nearly enough, but she'd gotten into the habit of waking up at six, so she hadn't really had a choice.

"Morning," Harry called out, Ron mumbling next to him.

"Morning." Hermione and Harry shared a grin over Ron's bleariness – she'd forgotten that he reverted back to Neanderthal when he first woke up. "First day of classes – we've got Divination first."

"You mean _we_ have Divination while you have Divination and Arithmancy, don't you?" Harry shook his head, confused. "I'm still not sure how that works really."

"How it works isn't important, not really. Just that it does!" Hermione frowned. "Divination – ugh. I can't believe I have to sit through that drivel again!" She looked up at Harry, just remembering. "Oh, by the way – don't get too freaked out about this, but she's going to predict that you're going to die."

"What?" Harry's face drained of colour. "Hermione, the reason the two of you came back was because I died!"

"Er, well, yes. Though that was four years later – and anyway, she's only really made two real predictions in her life. Or will."

"But all the other times you went back, I died then, too!"

"That was because of what we'd changed, Harry, not because of anything else. The first time, Ron knew not to drink the mead – so he didn't, and you _did_. The second time, I didn't cast _silencio_ on Dolohov because I knew what he would do to me anyway – but because of _that_, he cast the killing curse and it hit you." Hermione shifted uncomfortably – it felt incredibly morbid to be discussing this.

"Oh – but what about the last time?"

"I'm not too sure about what happened there – neither Ron nor I were in the graveyard with you and Cedric. All I know is that we told the both of you that the cup was a portkey – I don't know why either of you picked it up."

"Morning Hermione. When did you get down here?"

"Oh, you're awake then, Ron?" Harry sure turned an interesting shade of red when he was trying not laugh, Hermione noticed. "Let's go down to breakfast then, otherwise we'll be late for Divination."

"That's a bad thing, why?" Ron shrugged at their questioning looks. "I'm not one to pass up food, but the old bat is barmy!"

"C'mon Ron, we're not going to be late on the first day of classes." Hermione pulled the two along behind her, occasionally looking back to make sure that Ron was still following.

"Have you thought about what you're going to do – you know, with the map?"

"Oh, I have a few ideas."

(--//--)

This was torture – absolute torture.

Maybe the Death Eaters should have taken notes from Trelawney. Hermione sighed, glaring into her teacup. Neville had already broken one, so Lavender and Parvati were completely enthralled by the fraud. Beside her, Ron struggled to keep a straight face, while Harry disguised a snicker by faking a coughing fit.

"Hermione!"

She glanced up, keeping one eye on Trelawney and slightly angled her body towards her best friends. "What?"

"This can't have been as bad the first time, right?" Ron looked at her hopefully, his voice barely above a whisper. "I mean, I didn't willingly sit through this for four years, did I?"

"Ron!" Honestly, she couldn't believe him sometimes. "You can't say things like that! What if someone overheard?"

"Oh, yeah. Sorry."

"Hey, what do you think that looks like, Ron?" Harry motioned to his teacup.

"A goat?" Ron grinned at Hermione, who stifled a laugh. The rumours about Aberforth Dumbledore abounded even now. "Dunno, Harry – could be a hippo, even."

"A hippo?" Hermione snorted, smothering a giggle.

"Let me have that cup!" She groaned as Trelawney approached them, her arm thrust out dramatically. She snatched the cup out of Ron's hands and gasped, her face a theatrical mask of shock and dismay. "Oh dear! Who's cup is this, quick, tell me now!"

Hermione snickered. "Shouldn't she know that?" she whispered under her breath to Harry who couldn't hold back his laugh.

"Uh, mine, Professor," he said hastily, hoping she hadn't heard the laugh.

"Oh, my poor boy," she moaned out, before her eyes narrowed. "Mr. Potter – well, I should have known. Do you know what's in the cup, Potter?"

"Uh, no Professor."

"A GRIM!" Like the first time, the majority of the class gasped in unison. "It's a portent of death, child, a portent of things to come!" She reached to Harry, stopping just short of touching his shoulder. "I do not want to be the one to tell you this, Potter, but you are going to die!"

Again, the class gasped. Hermione thought she saw Lavender swooning and rolled her eyes. _Honestly_.

"Not to be rude, Professor, but I'm pretty sure that at some point, everyone will die." Harry said, his tone almost apologetic, though Hermione could hear the undertones of laughter in his voice.

Trelawney sputtered a bit, obviously unused to such a calm reaction from her students. "I see that I cannot expect such young children to understand the intricacies of the Inner Eye, but heed my warning, Potter, before the year is out, your life will be in danger."

"No offence Professor, but Black's already after Harry!" Seamus Finnigan piped up, exchanging a glance with Dean Thomas. "Ye can't get any more dangerous than an escaped murderer!"

"Yes, well." Trelawney spun around to face Seamus, a mutinous scowl on her face. "I trust you will no longer speak out of turn, Finnigan – otherwise I'll be predicting a few detentions in your future."

Hermione started, looking at Ron with wide eyes. _That_ certainly hadn't happened the first time.

"Class dismissed," Trelawney sang out, seemingly back to normal.

Excited chatter broke out through the room as the students began collecting their belongings. On their way out of the tower, Hermione bumped into Lavender, who still looked a bit scared from earlier. Feeling slightly guilty for her churlish thoughts, Hermione offered her a comforting smile. "I really am sorry about your rabbit, Lavender."

The blonde girl spun around to look at her, eyes wide. "What? What about my rabbit?"

"Didn't Trelawney predict that your rabbit would die on the 16th of October?" Hermione questioned, her heart sinking. She _couldn't _have screwed up, not this early.

"No – she just said that what I was dreading would happen." Lavender frowned, looking uncomfortable. "Hermione, how did you know that my rabbit was sick? I haven't even told Parvati!"

_Oh, bloody hell. _ And here she'd been worrying about Ron saying something wrong.

(--//--)

_And for __any one thing that changes, so does another – and then another, and another and so on.__ The effect cumulates, until it effectively spins out of control and there is no way to know what set of the chain reaction in the first place. There were many consequences to time travel, so many things that they did not understand yet. If what they believed about parallel worlds was true, did the two simply jump from world to world as they changed things? Or was this the only world that existed, and the two were simply creating chaos in the fabric of time? There was so much that they didn't know – and maybe it was time to get answers._

_A trip to Hogwarts was imminent. _


End file.
